As Winter Begins
As Winter Begins By Christopher J. Bradley 11/16/00 9:52:48 PM I stand outside The wind blustering against my face And tugging at the wings of my jacket. The crinkling leaves are floating on the air Around my legs. I have worked in the gym tonight My arms and legs feel strong and warm Against the cold. A cup of coffee on the drive home Went well with some cigarettes. The maple's falling petals shield me from tiny raindrops Almost snow they flick against my face when they sneak past. The drops induce dreams of other places Warmer places like Florida or Alabama Maybe South Carolina Where I was born. Seeing photographs of myself as a child last night Moved me to remember that winter can be fun Growing up at Grammy's house In the winter of 1977 during the Blizzard Was terrifying and ecstatic all at once. I played with Pebbles then A beagle with a disposition like no other And a hunger for anything edible and visible. I also played with new toys A plastic tennis set And a ring stack. At Grammy's house I could see everything wooden and green The Christmas tree covered with glass ornaments Sparkled in the darkness that winter. And we ate and drank and shared the spirit of family. A couple years pass in my mind And I find myself walking to school in the snow Trudging along heavy packed curbs of grey From the plows the night before. Finding my way to Maple Avenue. Around that time I played my first video game And got my Christmas wish To have Space Invaders to play at home Dad tried unsuccessfully to sneak the Atari 2600 Past the doorway from his rusted blue Maverick. We enjoyed the holidays a few days earlier that year. My brother and I went sledding with my father For a couple of years in a row As we got bigger and stronger The Toboggan was heavy And Clover Hill was tall. But what a rush it was To slide through white powder On the circular sleds And that huge wooden thing And to stop just short of the upturn That protected us from the cars slushing by. The walk to school got further When we started attending St. Teresa's And the wind was colder with each successive winter As my ears grew. But the music got louder And clearer and that's when I started dancing. There were winter dances at St John's school In LaSalle The winter of seventh grade I found myself with Jennifer Gallheger in my arms To the song that was prized as the most popular For it's length Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. That winter I asked her to the movies And we saw Top Gun With Tom Cruise And I held her hand When Maverick made Kelly McGuiness quiver But we never kissed. My cigarette burns out And I walk back inside the house Past the evergreen bushes In front of the space Where I built so many snowmen. But I continue to dream Until my fingers reach the keys That put those dreams into words. My freshmen year at high school I discovered Paula Who kissed me at a homecoming dance And we bowled together In a league that winter. The shoes always clung to my wet socks when I took my boots off. I also found more video games And left the house less Except for shoveling snow The next few winters As I concentrated on improving my grades. In 1991 I experienced a winter without Michelle Alone in Chicago Among grown boys We celebrated a drunken Christmas party And I didn't see them Until I had given up on school there. When I did come home Michelle and I made up for lost time Holding each other In front of the fireplace On blankets laid out on the blue carpeted floor. Then there were several more winters And I found myself standing on the street Confronted as a loiterer. I spent Thanksgiving in a hospital Recovering my wits. And then there was the Christmas a year later With more of the same Due to some Christmas Shopping anxiety nightmare And fear of more of the same. I spent Christmas out of commission as well. The snow fell but it didn't touch my face much. So now that the winter is starting I hope to be prepared I'll not be planning any wild escapades or escapes I just want to watch the flakes fall from the heavens And glisten on the swooping winds that make my windows rock in the night time. On the weekends my computer will humm with electricity While I type away and try to figure out all of the wonderful things it can do And I will spend less time in the stores And more time talking to Mom and Dad. Because when we are all together Brothers and Sister included There is still something special Not to be missed : The spirit of family and Joy of Winter today And Winters past We know how to protect against the cold And we know how to play in the snow And we know why Christmas is. Category:Catalog